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City reports progress on general plan and housing pipeline; 168 units permitted in last year
Summary
Community development staff reported that 97% of general-plan policies are complete or ongoing and that the city permitted 168 housing units in the last year; the council accepted the 2025 general plan annual report and will submit it to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The El Paso de Robles City Council received and approved the 2025 General Plan annual report on June 2, a required submittal to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Community Development Director Warren Fre told the council the general plan functions as the city's long-term land-use blueprint and contains about 240 policy actions. He reported that roughly 97% of the policies were complete, ongoing or in process. Fre underscored the importance of the housing element and tracked housing production since the start of the sixth RHNA cycle in 2021:
- During the last year the city permitted 168 units (23 low-income units, 24 moderate-income units and 121 above-moderate units). That represented a decline from prior years when apartment permits pushed totals into the 200'200s. - Overall, the city is tracking to meet the cycle's total allocation (about 1,446 units); Fre said the city is roughly 70% through the required total and expects to reach the allocation by the end of the cycle with continued development in several specific-plan areas.
Major projects and status: Olsson (South Chandler) specific plan (1,293 approved units) and Beachwood (911 units) are under construction in phases with merchant builders active on multiple parcels; River Oaks and other projects include affordable and market-rate components. Fre noted developer-required circulation mitigations (turn lanes, signal work and intersection widenings) tied to timing triggers in environmental review documents.
Fre and the city manager also discussed future concerns for the next RHNA cycle, including a new "acutely low income" category (0—5% AMI) that HCD has not yet fully defined; Slowcog (the regional council of governments) intends to object to parts of the preliminary allocation methodology, and staff indicated further engagement with HCD and regional partners is underway.
Council motion: The council voted to approve the 2025 General Plan annual report and authorized staff to submit it to HCD.
Source: presentation by Warren Fre and council discussion at the June 2 meeting.
